Stanford for undergrad

Colleges and Universities A-Z Stanford University
1

<p>Stanford is undoubtedly an outstanding grad school, but our impression has been that Stanford is not outstanding for undergrad. I think for my S, one of the biggest reasons for that view is that research is more "go 'fer" stuff and not really much opportunity to do independent/original research at the undergrad level, certainly not before about the senior year. S is ready to get started as soon as he walks in the door :-).</p>

<p>Is there a general flavor on campus in many different aspects to wait until grad? Stuff like housing, professor availability, advisor support, class availability, research opportunities, etc. What about work study jobs? </p>

<p>Thanks for any feedback.</p>

2

<p>This should not be a concern. All the top colleges put in a lot of effort to educate their undergrad. And I hear many stories about professors noting how undergrads are often brighter than their grad counterparts at these schools, since undergraduate admissions is considerably lower than graduate admissions. I’m guess at Stanford, there are plenty of opportunities to do research, even as a freshmen. This is certainly true for smaller research schools like MIT and Caltech. But overall I wouldn’t worry too much.</p>

<p>IMO I would focus on getting in first, and then make the decision once you get accepted.</p>

3

<p>S is hesitant to even apply if he does not feel there is research opportunities. Stanford also does not have his primary major, not until the grad level.</p>

4

<p>In my experience (majoring in CS, concentrating in AI), finding meaningful research hasn’t been a problem, and it hasn’t been a problem for many of my friends in other majors either. In my case, I did have to wait until I’d taken some AI classes before I could do meaningful research, but I know some people who started research without as much coursework beforehand (although they probably had other experience to make up for it). In general, there’s enough research going on at Stanford that there will be something for you if you have the required background and can make the time commitment.</p>

<p>What is your S planning to major in?</p>

5

<p>S’s major(s) at Stanford would be human biology and one of the bio engineering majors (he’s not pre-med).</p>

<p>Thanks for the feedback.</p>

6

<p>I have no idea what information you have encountered to give you the opinions/impressions of the school that you have. Have you ever visited Stanford? If not, I would highly recommend it. First of all, all of your impressions are incorrect. I am a freshman this year and am currently conducting my own independent research with a professor (in the social sciences, even though im an Elec. Eng. major, because I found a true interest in the topic during her class and she asked me if I was interested in authoring a paper on it). I have several friends also doing research now in a variety of fields based on previous knowledge. If your son knows what he’s doing/talking about, then he can get started finding a professor to start researching with. If he isn’t quite there yet, he can certainly find a job working in a lab along side graduate students, learning the processes of working in a lab and getting a feel as to how to do research. Even in the latter of these options, none of the work he will be doing is “go 'fer” work and he will actually be getting fantastic experience. </p>

<p>-----“not really much opportunity to do independent/original research at the undergrad level, certainly not before about the senior year.”-----</p>

<p>This, in and of itself, is just unfounded. Stanford allocates several million dollars for undergraduate research every year. Obviously, it’s not reserved solely for seniors. I think that as a student, he needs to do more “research” into the opportunities that Stanford has. There’s overseas research (both as an intern and independently), REU (research experience for undergrads. Sometimes run through a specific dept., other times not. For example, EE has a specific summer program for novel research over the summer for underclassmen), SURPS (too lazy to post a link), and you’re omnipresent “I’m going to go ask a professor to work in his lab” jobs.</p>

<p>-----“Is there a general flavor on campus in many different aspects to wait until grad? Stuff like housing, professor availability, advisor support, class availability, research opportunities, etc. What about work study jobs?”-----</p>

<p>No. We have every resource in the world available to us (including most of the ones available to grad students), why would someone want to wait until grad school? Class availability isn’t that big a deal, although it can sometimes be slightly tricky with your larger lecture classes. Professors are all very approachable, in my experience, and are very available outside of the classroom. Advisors are awesome. My PMA (pre-major advisor) took me and a group of students out to dinner with an Alum. working at Google so we could ask him questions. I don’t have any experience with work study, so I can’t really comment on that. </p>

<p>Bottom line is: the Stanford undergrad experience, so far, is amazing. Most upperclassmen I’ve talked to have confirmed that this is the case all 4 years. As much attention as we undergrads get, it is a RESEARCH institution. Therefore, if that’s the only thing stopping him from applying, I would advise he actually look at the opportunities and concentrate on whether or not he likes the other aspects of the school.</p>

<p>Hope I helped and good luck with the rest of the college admission process. Feel free to PM me with any more questions you or your son may have.</p>

7

<p>@techguy - thanks for the reply. I appreciate your passion and you definitely do Stanford proud :-). Yes, we’ve been to campus, which is when S really got the vibe that the opportunities just weren’t there (to the extent that he wants) as an undergrad. He has not however met with professors, etc to sit down and discuss with them “the way things work”. </p>

<p>He has decided to apply however and we’ll see how things go from here :-).</p>